About

Biography

Though its founding members had been active in the local scene since the early '80s, the band known as Ancient Rites was only officially formed in 1989 by Gunther Theys (bass/vocals), Philip and Johan (guitars), and Stefan (drums). One of Belgium's only black metal groups of note (requisite corpse paint and all), they were star-crossed from the start, with both Philip (killed in a car accident) and Stefan (suicide) meeting premature deaths shortly after recording their "Dark Rit... Read more